Pitless well adaptors



Jan. 30, 1962 H. w. MAAss 3,018,829

PITLESS WELL ADAPTORS Filed Feb. 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 b I INVENTOR.

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Jan. 30, 1962 H. w. MAAss PITLESS WELL ADAPTORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledFeb. 8, 1960 INVENTOR. Miami/7M BY imam/272M HTTORNE'VAS'.

nited States atent a "the clined walls to afford effective drainage ofwater of condensation into the well casing and away from "the pipeconnections, the lower edge or lip of the 'box projecting into thecasing at an inclination and preventing condensation or water fromcollecting on the inner wall of the casing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pitless well adaptorwhich is of very simple construction, which meets all sanitary and coderequirements, which is extremely easy to install and service, which isefficient in operation, and which is well adapted for the purposesdescribed.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved well adaptor, and its parts and combinations as set forth inthe claims, and all equivalents thereof.

in the accompanying drawings in which the same reference charactersindicate the same parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the upper portion of a wellinstallation of the pitless submersible pump type embodying the improvedadaptor;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the showing in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of that portion of the well casingwhich includes the sealed horseshoeshaped box and the water supply pipeleading from the Well casing;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately along theline 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view of the inner face portion of the horseshoe-shaped boxforming part of the assemblage.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and to FIG. 1 thereof,it will appear that the well casing, of circular form in cross section,is indicated generally by the numeral 8 and protrudes above the groundlevel a required distance. The upper end of the casing 8 has appliedthereto a suitable flanged sealing cap 9 which may be secured in closingrelation by a .set screw 10. A portion of the sealing cap 9 has aslightly upwardly offset and then downturned hollow extension 11 whichaccommodates the electrical cable 12 surrounded by a protective tube 13.There may be used with the well a conventional pump and motor of thetype found on the open market, and which have not been illustrated, butthe motor receives electricity from the cable 12.

A particular feature of the invention and which is an improvement overthe equivalent member shown in Patent No. 2,841,223, resides in theprovision of a box 18 which in its overall contour is substantially ofhorseshoe or oval shape as is best seen from FIGS. 4 and 5. Said box 18has a peripheral well casing wall engaging ledge or lip .19, slightlyoutwardly offset at its upper end from the plane of the major portion ofthe lip, as at 19' in FIGS. 1 and 3. The inner margin of the lip 1919'of the box carries an integral rib 20 whose plane is at right angles tothe plane of the lip. The hollow body portion of the box 18 is in theform of an angular section of a cylinder with the bottom wall 21 of thebox being at right angles to the axis of its body portion. The centrallower margin of the bottom wall 21 of the box, between the terminalportions of the lip 19, is formed with a protruding tongue 22 (see FIGS.3 and 5).

The well casing 8, below the frost level, is provided with ahorseshoe-shaped opening 23 to which the box 18 is applied in the mannershown in the drawings to close the opening in the well casing wall andto project outwardly laterally therefrom. To seal the horseshoeshapedbox 18 to the well casing and to close the well casing wall opening 23,the downwardly directed tongue 22 on the box 18 is inserted into thecorrespondingly shaped, tapered lower end portion of the well casingopening 23 and the tongue 22 will engage the stock or sill surroundingthe portion of the opening but will form This invention relates toimprovements in pitless well adaptors.

Well installations of the so-called pitless type, including asubmersible pump, must, according to various state codes, provide forthe well casing being sealed against the entrance of foreign matter anddrainage, but it IS essential that the construction permit the removaland inspection of the submersible pump and its motor from time to time.

The Herbert W. Maass et al. prior Patent No. 2,841,-

223 has as its general objective the provision of a pitless well adaptorfor submersible pump wells in which the pump and its appurtenances canbe conveniently and quickly removed for repairs and inspection, theconstruction of said prior patent also providing a well casing below thefrost line in the ground with a laterally extendmg sealed box oftriangular contour forming a part of but offset from the well casing andcommunicating with the interior thereof in a manner so as to seal thewell casing against the entrance of foreign matter and drainage water.The pitless well adaptor of the present invention is an improvement overthat of United States Patent No. 2,841,223, and the box, forming a partof the well cas mg, is substantially horseshoe in shape and is mountedin an opening provided therefor in the well casing, the shape of the boxand the corresponding shape of the opening therefor in the well casingrendering it impossible for the welder or installer to mount the boxincorrectly in the casing opening and insuring the projection of amarginal portion of the box through the opening into the well casing,thus facilitating the connection of internal fitting portions with ahousing nipple.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a pitless welladaptor, a laterally extending horseshoe shaped box which, duringinstallation, may be lowered against the outer wall portion of the wellcasing and accurately registered with a curved opening provided thereforin the casing wall, leaving an annular, accessible, protruding ledge orsill which facilitates the welding of the horseshoe shaped box to thecasing.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a pitless welladaptor, a horseshoe shaped box which is so shaped that the welder orinstaller can see the peripheral portions thereof which are to be weldedonto the casing and respecting which there are no bottom blind spots,the shape of the box minimizing the extent of welding required.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a pitless wellinstallation, an adaptor including a horseshoe shaped box communicatingwith the interior of the well casing and sealed thereto, which box andassociated portion of the well casing will meet all sanitaryrequirements in the elimination of pockets or crevices which mightcollect foreign matter and condensation to prevent contamination of thewater in the well or that passing through the flow or supply pipes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pitless well adaptorwhich is easy to remove from the pump casing because the box is devoidof abrupt edges or shoulders which might contact the casing when theinstallation is being raised for removal and inspection.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a pitless welladaptor of the class described, an easily applied box of horseshoecontour which has steeply in a flush continuation of the inner surfaceof the well casing, as is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The ledge portion19 of the box 18 will engage the outer surface of the well casingimmediately surrounding the opening 23, but the rib 20 will projectslightly into the opening adjacent the stock surrounding the opening andthus locate the box in proper position and prevent dislocation thereof.The offset top portion 19 of the ledge 19 permits said portion to reston the outer surface of the casing where as the lower tongue 22 actuallyenters the casing wall opening 23. As is best shown in FIG. 1, the innerface of the offset portion 19' of the ledge has an upwardly, outwardlyinclined portion 28 terminating in a groove 29. As will appear from FIG.said groove 29 is adjacent to and surrounds the horseshoe-shaped rib andterminates at the lower extremities of the ledge 19. This requires theinstaller to cut a sufficiently large opening 23 in the casing wall toreceive the box rib 20. The surrounding groove 29 will accommodate anyburr which may be left on the casing from the torch cutting and burningoperation to form the opening 23. When the box is positioned, asdescribed, the welder making an installation will then weld the lipmargin 19 of the box 18 to the outer face of the well casing surroundingthe opening 23, as indicated at 24 in the drawing. All edges which areto be welded together are readily accessible and visible and the weldercan perform the welding operations with facility and full access to allof the surfaces including the bottom. The step inclination of the bottomwall 21 of the box also aids access to the surfaces to be weldedtogether and the overall shape of the unit is such that less welding isrequired than in respect to other pitless well adaptor boxes.

Projecting into the lower inclined bottom wall 21 of the box 18 andwelded thereto, is a stainless steel nipple 25 whose threaded outer endportion is threaded into one end portion of a 45 elbow 26 which also hasthreaded thereinto the inner end portion of a horizontally directedwater supply pipe 27.

The numeral 30 designates a bronze casting in the form of a fittinghaving a downwardly directed oblique lateral extension. The main portionof the fitting 30 has a chamber 31 therein in communication with thehollow portion of a downwardly inclined oblique lateral extension 32,which, in the installation, projects into the hollow interior of thehorseshoe-shaped box 18 to receive and connect with the inner taperedend portion of the nipple 25 which has a force fit within the bore ofthe fitting extension 32, fluid leakage being prevented by an O-ring 33.The lower portion of the bronze fitting 30 has a vertically directedinternally threaded opening therein communicating with the fittingchamber 31 and into which is threaded the upper end portion of a flowpipe 34 which extends downwardly into the lower portion of the wellcasing to have water forced upwardly therein when the well pump is inoperation. It will be obvious that the flow of water will be asindicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, the water passing from the upper endof the flow pipe 34 through the bronze fitting cavity 31, into andthrough the nipple 25 and below 26, and then through the supply pipe 27to Wherever the water is to be utilized. This entire passageway isdevoid of obstructions of any character.

The upper end portion of the bronze fitting 30 is provided with aninternally threaded socket 35 into which the lower end portion of a droppipe 36 (see FIG. 1) may be threaded when the installation is being madeor when parts are to be removed from the well casing for repairs andinspection. The drop pipe 32 is, of course, only temporarily appliedwhen the top cap 9 of the well casing is removed or opened. Theinstallation, when it is disconnected from the nipple 25 may be movedvertically through the well casing 8 by the means described, and thereare no ledges nor protruding portions which will catch or snag againstthe inner wall portions of the well casing. For servicing the welladaptor and other parts, no digging around the Well casing is required.

When the parts are assemled as in FIGS. 1 and 3, it will be obvious thatthe assemblage is devoid of internal horizontal walls and ledges such asmight collect and retain condensation and foreign matter. The steeplyinclined walls of the box 18, which is offset from the casing proper,and which houses the nose portion of the bronze fitting 30 and nipple,facilitate the flow of water of condensation and foreign matter into theinterior of the well casing 8 so that condensation and foreign matterwill not collect around the fitting joints. The bottom wall 21 of thebox eliminates pockets and provides the tongue 22 projected at a steepinclination into the well casing to cause undesired foreign matter toflow or gravitate into the well casing and not pocket or collect in thearea of the box and fittings.

From FIG. 1 it will be seen that the inner surface of the end of thetongue 22, after being welded in place contacts the sill of the casingopening and forms a flush continuation of the inner surface of thecasing wall thereadjacent. The upper end portion of the bronze casting30 is formed with a downwardly outwardly inclined auxiliary port 37which allows drainage of condensation or foreign matter which mightcollect in the socket 35 in the upper end of the member 30.

An outwardly projecting box on a wall portion of a well casing to housea portion of the detachable connections is important in the event thatthe flow pipe and connections are required to be removed from the casingin the manner previously described for redrilling or for servicing ofthe well. In this event, the fitting 30 is pulled vertically out of thewell casing and is detached from the nipple 25 with which it has a forcefit. As nothing then will remain within the full cross-sectional area ofthe well casing proper, it is unobstructed for the use of a drill orother tools.

Besides providing pocketless inclined surfaces to eliminate thecollection of condensation and foreign material, the adaptor, andhorseshoe-shaped box 18 are of a construction which greatly facilitateand simplify the installation. As was previously described, the wellcasing opening 23 must be made sufficiently large to adequately receivethe ribbed portion 20 of the box, plus the inclined surface 28 of thebox lip offset 19'. With the lip 19, the rib 20, and tongue 22, it isimpossible to err in the location of the box prior to the weldingoperation and the contour of the box and its lip 19 is such that thewelding operation may be carried out with vision and access to the thesurfaces and a relatively small extent of welding is required. Byinsuring the correct and positive location of the box on the wellcasing, the nose portion 32 of the fitting 30 is sure to be properlyalined with the nipple 25. u

The improved pitless well adaptor is of simple and novel construction,and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In a well casing having an underground hollow section with an openingin its wall, an edge of which forms a sill, a laterally extending box ofovate contour rigidly secured to the casing section in registration withsaid opening with the lowermost wall of the box forming an acute angleto the axis of the casing section and having a peripheral laterallyextending ledge with an inwardly spaced rib terminating at the lower endof the box in a downwardly inwardly inclined tongue extending beyond theledge and rib and being interposed between the ends of the same, saidtongue and said rib extending into said casing section opening with thetongue engaging said sill, a flow pipe within said casing section, achambered, oblique lateral fitting having its main portion connected toand in communication with the flow pipe, a nipple rigidly mounted in thelower wall of said box and connected at its inner end to a portion ofthe fitting, and a supply pipe connected to the outer end portion of thenipple.

2. In a well casing having an underground hollow, vertically directedsection with a horseshoe-shaped opening in its wall, a lower edge ofwhich forms a sill, a laterally extending box of horseshoe contourrigidly secured to the casing section in registration with said openingwith the lowermost wall of the box forming an acute angle to the axis ofthe casing section and having a peripheral laterally extending edgeengaging the outer surface of the casing section around the majorportion of the opening therein and also having an inwardly spaced ribextending into said opening and terminating at the lower end of the boxin a downwardly inwardly inclined tongue extending beyond the ledge andrib and being interposed between the ends of the same, said tongue andsaid rib extending into said casing section opening with the tongueengaging said sill and secured thereto to direct condensation andforeign matter into said casing section, a vertical flow pipe withinsaid casing section, a chambered, oblique lateral fitting having itsmain portion connection to and in communication with the flow pipe, anipple having an intermediate portion rigidly mounted in the lower wallof said box and connected at its inner end to a portion of the fitting,and a supply pipe connected to the outer end portion of the nipple.

3. In a well casing having an underground hollow section with an ovateopening in its wall with stock of the casing section surrounding theopening, the lower edge of said wall opening being transverse to theaxis of the hollow section and forming a sill, a laterally extending boxof ovate contour applied to the casing section in registration with saidopening with the lowermost wall of the box forming an acute angle to theaxis of the casing section and having a peripheral laterally extendingledge overlapping the stock of the casing section around th majorportion of its opening and welded thereto, said ledge having an inwardlyspaced peripheral rib broken and terminating at the lower end of thebox, there being a downwardly inwardly inclined tongue interposedbetween the lower ends of the rib, said tongue and said peripheral ribextending into said casing section opening with said tongue seating onsaid sill and welded thereto, a How pipe within said casing section, achambered, oblique lateral fitting having its main portion connected toand in communication with the flow pipe with its oblique portionprojecting into and accommodated by said box, a nipple rigidly mountedin the lower wall of said box and connected at its inner end to aportion of the fitting, and a supply pipe connected to the outer endportion of the nipple.

4. In a well casing having an underground hollow section with an ovateopening in its wall, an edge of which forms a sill, a laterallyextending box of ovate contour rigidly secured to the housing inregistration with said opening with the lowermost wall of the boxforming an acute angle to the axis of the casing section, said boxhaving a peripheral laterally extending ledge with an inwardly spacedperipheral rib broken at the lower end of the box, a downwardly inwardlyinclined tongue interposed between the ends of the ledge, said tonguearid said peripheral rib extending into said casing section opening withthe tongue engaging said sill, the upper end portion of said ledge beingslightly outwardly offset to engage outer surface portions of the casingsection, a flow pipe within said casing section, a chambered, obliquelateral fitting having its main portion connected to and incommunication with the flow pipe, a nipple rigidly mounted in the lowerwall of said box and connected at its inner end to a portion of thefitting, and a supply pipe connected to the outer end portion of thenipple.

5. In a well casing having an underground hollow section with an ovateopening in its wall, a lower edge of which forms a sill, a laterallyextending box of ovate contour rigidly secured to the housing inregistration with said opening with the lowermost wall of the boxforming an acute angle to the axis of the casing section, said boxhaving a peripheral laterally extending ledge with an inwardly spacedperipheral rib, both of which are broken at the lower end of the box, adownwardly inwardly inclined extended tongue interposed between thebroken portions of the ledge and rib, said tongue and said peripheralrib extending into said casing section opening with the tongue engagingsaid sill, the up er end portion of said ledge being slightly outwardlyofiset, a portion of said rib formed on said ofiset being inclined toenter the casing section opening and an adjacent portion of said offsetalso being formed with a groove, a flow pipe within said casing section,a chambered, oblique lateral fitting having its main portion connectedto and in communication with the flow pipe, a nipple rigidly mounted inthe lower wall of said box and connected at its inner end to a portionof the fitting, and a supp-1y pipe connected to the outer end portion ofthe nipple.

6. In a well, a vertical casing having an ovate opening in its wallsurrounded by the stock of the casing, the lower edge of which forms asill, a laterally offset ovate box rigidly secured to the casing oversaid opening communicating with the interior of the casing and forming apocket oblique to the axis of the casing, said box having a peripherallaterally extending ledge overlapping the stock of the casing sectionaround the major portion of said opening with the ledge being formed onits inner face portion with an inwardly spaced rib entering the casingopening and broken and terminating at the lower end of the box, adownwardly inwardly inclined extended tongue interposed within the breakin the lower end of the rib and extending into the casing opening andengaging the sill, said tongue being secured to the sill by a line ofweld applied laterally of the casing, there also being a line of weldbetween the box ledge and the casing, a water supply pipe exteriorly ofthe casing, a vertical Water fiow pipe within the casing, a downwardlyoutwardly directed nipple anchored in a lower wall portion of the boxoblique to the water flow pipe, an elbow connecting the supply pipe tothe outer end portion of the nipple, and a fitting for forming aconnection between the upper end portion of the flow pipe and thenipple, said fitting having a main body portion directly conneotablewith the flow pipe and a downwardly directed oblique lateral extensionwhereby when the fitting is lowered into the casing to connect with theflow pipe, rotation of the fitting will project the oblique lateralextension thereof into the box in registration with the nipple, therebeing O-ring and taper means on the lateral extension and inner endportion of the nipple for eifecting a force fit between the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,570,974 Stevens Jan. 26, 1926 2,841,223 Maass et al, July 1, 19582,903,067 Hall Sept. 8, 1959 2,918,972 Tubbs Dec. 29, 1959

